Kam’s Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun, July 21, 2010

For movies opening July 23, 2010

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Ramona and Beezus (G) Family comedy, based on Beverly Cleary’s best-selling series of children’s novels, revolving around the madcap misadventures of a rambunctious third grader (Joey King) with a vivid imagination who tends to test the patience of her exasperated big sister (Selena Gomez). Supporting cast includes John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Sandra Oh, Josh Duhamel and Ginnifer Goodwin.

Salt (PG-13 for violence and intense action sequences) Angelina Jolie plays the title character in this espionage thriller about a disgraced CIA Agent-turned-fugitive who goes on the run to try to clear her name after being falsely accused of being a Russian spy. Cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Liev Schreiber and Zoe Lister Jones.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Audrey the Trainwreck (Unrated) Cyber romantic romp about a couple of jaded twenty-somethings (Anthony J. Baker and Alexi Wasser) who find a welcomed escape from their respective rat race routines when matched with each other by an internet dating service.

Farewell (Unrated) Timely espionage thriller, based on the real-life exploits of a KGB defector (Emir Kusturica) who handed over a list of Soviet spies to French President Francois Mitterand (Philippe Magnan) at the height of the Cold War. With Diane Kruger, Benno Furmann and Fred Ward as Ronald Reagan. (In French, English and Russian with subtitles)

Jean-Michel Basquait: The Radiant Child (Unrated) “Better to Flameout Than to Fade Away” bio-pic recounting the meteoric rise and untimely demise of Basquait (1960-1988), the Brooklyn-born, black graffiti scofflawt-turned-legit fine art phenom whose promise future was consumed by the heroin overdose which claimed his life at the age of 27.

Life during Wartime (Unrated) Dysfunctional family dramedy, written and directed by Todd Solondz, about a divorcee (Allison Janney) with two teenage sons (Dylan Riley Snider and Chris Marquette) who finds herself torn between reconciling with her just-paroled, pedophile ex (Ciaran Hinds) and a guy (Michael Lerner) who’d make a much better role model for her boys. With Charlotte Rampling, Paul “Pee-wee Herman” Reubens and Ally Sheedy.

Mugabe and the White African (Unrated) White flight documentary highlighting the legal battle waged by one of the last Caucasians still in Zimbabwe to hold onto his family farm in the face of President Mugabe’s plans for redistribution under a land reform program. (In English and Shona with subtitles)

Spoken Word (Unrated) Prodigal Son drama about a San Francisco poetry slam artist (Kuno Becker) who returns to his New Mexico roots to care for his terminally-ill father (Ruben Blades) only to develop rapper’s block when he starts hanging out on his hometown’s crime-infested streets again with the gangstas he thought he’d left behind for good.